Rae in Fur Coat
Charcoal & pastel, 1934

The Studio of Ben Solowey announces a new exhibition, Ben Solowey’s Paper Trails, featuring paintings, drawings, and prints from over a half-century of the renown artist’s career. “Some of Ben Solowey’s greatest work are on paper, not canvas,” says David Leopold, Director of the Solowey Studio. “He was an acknowledged master of draughtsmanship, and there are terrific drawings in the show, including portraits of his favorite subject, his wife Rae. Yet there are also sublime paintings in watercolor and casein, and a small but remarkable body of monotype prints that reveal his lifelong interest in experimentation.” Ben Solowey’s Paper Trail will open to the public on Saturday, October 3rd at the Solowey Studio in Bedminster, PA from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit will continue Saturdays and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., through October 18th.

Ben Solowey’s Paper Trail is the first exhibit in eighteen months at the Solowey Studio, “But it is worth the wait,” says Leopold. “This spring we were offered a cache of some of Ben’s finest drawings and paintings from a private collection, and almost all of these will be in the show. Many of these have either never been exhibited before, or have not be on view to the pubic over fifty years. They are hidden treasures that we look forward to sharing with visitors.” In addition to the works on paper in the “Second Studio” of Solowey’s handcrafted studio, in the Main Studio there will be a wide range of works, primarily in oils from all different periods in the artist’s career. A 1926 still life hangs alongside Solowey’s iconic Young Woman with Still Life.  Solowey’s award-winning “Pink Tablecloth” returns to the studio for the first time since it was painted in 1948 and won the Gold Medal from the Fellowship at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1954. “Visitors will also be reintroduced to a self portrait that is among Ben’s most well known,” explains Leopold. “this 1962 ‘selfie’ is on the cover of the landmark Solowey monograph published in 1989 and it now sits on Ben’s handmade easel where it was originally painted. It’s like seeing an old friend.”

Visiting Ben Solowey’s Paper Trail, “there is the thrill of seeing these masterpieces where they were created, in Solowey’s spacious studio,” exclaims Leopold, “which maintains the atmosphere of the artist at work.” The inviting studio, and the beautiful property it sits on, were created and landscaped by Solowey after he left New York in 1942. The Studio has been featured in Architectural Digest, Pennsylvania Heritage, The Discerning Traveler, and Bucks County Town and Country Living.

Regular admission to Ben Solowey’s Paper Trail is $5. Hours are Saturdays and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. through October 18th. The Studio of Ben Solowey is located at 3551 Olde Bedminster Road in Ottsville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. For more information on Ben Solowey’s Paper Trail or directions, contact The Studio of Ben Solowey at 215-795-0228, or via www.solowey.com.